This weekend, Backstage Auctions will start their Rock n’ Pop auction (June 4-12). Goldmine recently covered the auction house’s fantastic lots of rare rock ‘n’ roll photography (accompanied with their original rights) available in this auction. Click here for that story. But that is not the only great investment for collectors. The Rock n’ Pop auction will also include a number of vintage posters and signed memorabilia, including signed artwork by The Rolling Stones’ Ron Wood (an example piece at left).

Ron Wood is a perfect example of a musician whose artwork has really become valuable and sought after. Expectations are high that the pieces of Wood’s artwork in this particular auction will move quickly because the paintings are priced better than what a buyer would typically see in a gallery.

Backstage Auctions have previously auctioned off artwork by other musicians such as Grace Slick and Marilyn Manson, but Ron Wood, as Jacques van Gool (founder of Backstage Auctions) explains, is more of a unique case.

“I would definitely say of all the musicians, or artist/musicians, Ron Wood is the upper echelon,” says van Gool. “He is probably one of the best known musicians that is also an artist. There are quite a few musicians who have tried to do paintings — anyone from Grace Slick to Paul Stanley of KISS — and I think that Ron Wood has proven for several decades now that this is not just a phase where a musician feels they need to express themselves differently.

“There are a 101 examples of musicians who either start writing a book, start painting, or want to make a movie. They come up with creative outlets and they normally only last for a couple years. Marilyn Manson is a great example. Manson, for a couple of years, wanted to do nothing but painting. And now he’s onto something else. Paul Stanley started to paint several years ago and he’s actually still painting so he might be one of those who has a second career.

“Ron Wood,” explains van Gool, “has earned a legitimate place as a painter because he’s been doing it for several decades and people have come to see and understand that he’s for real. His love for painting is genuine and I would say that he is definitely one of the most recognizable and most prolific musicians turned artists out there right now.

“Ron Wood has had the exposure,” continues van Gool, “and people collect his art. Obviously a portion who buy his art are probably Rolling Stones fans or Faces fans — a fan of his musical background. But I would say that a majority of the people who buy his art, buy it because they like his art — regardless of who he is or the band he plays for. There’s no denying that it does help to be a Rolling Stone because things will be a little bit easier, but again, I think he’s one of those exceptions where he may have used his Rolling Stone membership as a jumpstart in the beginning but he has done several hundreds of painting and he is a legitimate artist now.”

There are also vintage rock posters up for auction, concerts from Hendrix to Led Zeppelin/Jethro Tull (see below). For more information, go to www.backstageauctions.com.